The war of words between the Baldwin County Commission and Fairhope Utilities may be drawing to a close, as the commission passed a reimbursement agreement this week for utilities relocation that has been the holdup for several county road projects. Acting County Engineer Joey Nunnally shared an agreement with the commissioners and said it would allow the county to finish work on several projects. “This is a standard agreement and will cost us $34,000,” Nunnally said. “Fairhope has taken the task on itself at several different locations, so the next step would be for the city of Fairhope to do this and then get ALDOT approval in order to move forward.” Commissioner Skip Gruber said he was irritated these projects have been held up by Fairhope for such a small amount of money. “It looks like the total we’re looking at is $34,000,” Gruber said. “$34,000 has been holding up six projects for several months, and that’s totally ridiculous. That’s unacceptable.” Commission Chairman Chris Elliott questioned Nunnally about why it had taken the county this long to pass an agreement. “In order for us to process this document that we have been told was the holdup, what number did we need and who was the holdup?” Elliott asked. Nunnally said the holdup was Fairhope Utilities. “We’ve ben waiting on them to get us this figure,” Nunnally said. “We’ve been waiting on this figure for at least three or four weeks probably.” At a recent Fairhope City Council meeting, Fairhope Operations Director Richard Peterson said his department has been continuing to try to work with the county to fix the issue. “I’m wanting to accommodate working with the county to get it done as quickly as we can,” Peterson said. Tensions escalated between the two parties last week when the county moved the highway department’s message boards to County Road 32 near the intersection with Highway 181 displaying a message to motorists and the city itself: “Delays caused by Fairhope Utility. Call 251-928-2136.”